When Kissing is Unlike Paying Taxes
by AFatefulAccident
Summary: A new twist on the beginning of the romance we all know and love...please read it!
1. The Dare

Carol Vessey had the perfect life. She loved her job, teaching 10th grade English, she had great friends, like Molly, and she had a hunky-author boyfriend. But she felt something was missing. One morning, she figured out what. Nick walked into the kitchen where Carol was busy making waffles before heading to school. He asked for one, but when Carol threw the waffle at him, he exclaimed 'what a childish little girl she was, throwing food'. That's when it hit her. She was missing herself. At school she was supposed to be "teacher Carol", with Molly she could be "wild and crazy Carol", but when she got home, she just wanted to be Carol. Plain old Carol. When she was with Nick, however, she couldn't be herself. She had to be an adult and act responsible. That just wasn't her.  
  
So she ended it with Nick.  
  
She didn't cry, or wish they had stayed together. In fact, she was only disappointed in herself. She had spent 7 years of her life in a relationship she wasn't happy with. She felt that practically the last decade of her life had been a complete waste of time. But now she was free. She moved into a new house, met new people, and basically began to be herself.  
  
Then, Cupid decided to pay her a little visit.  
  
About two months after the break-up, Molly invited her to come out with her and a couple of old friends, apparently one had recently moved back to Stuckeyville. She agreed, mostly because she just needed to get out, but also because she was intrigued by this man who had moved back here after almost a decade.  
  
When they got to the Smiling Goat, Molly immediately led her to a couple waving at them from a corner table. Carol had met them before, their names were Mike and Nancy, but she wasn't as good of friends with them as Molly was.  
  
Nancy smiled when they reached the table. "Hey guys! Ed's not here yet, he just called and said he was running a little late, but he'd be here shortly".  
  
Molly nodded, "That's fine. Do you guys remember Carol?"  
  
Mike smiled, "Yea, we met at your Christmas party."  
  
Carol nodded. "So…who exactly is this guy we're waiting on? Did he go to high school with us?"  
  
Mike nodded vigorously, "Well, yea! He only had a crush on yo…" Nancy kicked him in the shin.  
  
"Ow!" Mike yelped, "What did I do?"  
  
Nancy sighed, "I don't know if Ed wanted the girl of his high school dreams to know he had a crush on her!"  
  
Carol threw a questioning at Molly, "Wait. This…Ed, had a crush on me in high school!?"  
  
Molly smiled, "A big one. Everyone knew about it."  
  
Now it was Carol's turn to sigh, "Everyone except me."  
  
Mike cracked a grin, "Pretty much."  
  
At this, Nancy got up.  
  
"Ed! Over here! Oh, it's so good to see you!"  
  
Carol turned around to see a tall, blue-eyed, brown-haired man walking towards them. She had to admit, he was kind of attractive. As he got closer to the table, Carol had to take it back.  
  
_He was really attractive.  
_  
As he sat down, his eyes focused on the only person at the table he didn't recognize. She had blonde hair, put up in a messy bun, jeans, and a grey hoody. She had that kind of natural beauty, one that doesn't require make-up to catch a guy's eye.  
  
_Wait…he did recognize her from somewhere…_  
  
As soon as Ed was seated, Mike turned to him, "Ed, you remember Carol Vessey? She went to high school with us, was a cheerleader and…"  
  
Ed cut him off. "Yea Mike, I remember her." He glanced back at Carol and smiled. She smiled back.  
  
_Oh, that smile._  
  
Eventually he had to look away, because he was grinning at her like an idiot.  
  
Molly didn't notice this exchange, and instead turned to Ed. "So Ed, what brings you back to Stuckeyville?"  
  
Ed grinned, "Actually, three things. A comma, a mailman, and a bowling alley."  
  
They all glanced at each other, confused.  
  
Ed laughed. "I lost my job because of a misplaced comma, I found my wife in bed with a mailman, and I heard they were closing Stuckeybowl, so I bought it."  
  
Carol looked at him. "You bought that old bowling alley?"  
  
He smiled, "Yep. I'm going to be a lawyer who owns a bowling alley. And don't any of you start calling me a bowling alley lawyer."  
  
Mike sniggered, "never would have considered it."  
  
Everyone laughed at that, and soon the conversation drifted on to new things. Around 10 o'clock, Mike suddenly cracked a wicked grin.  
  
"Guys, I have an idea…let's play Truth or Dare."  
  
Nancy turned to her husband. "Hun, we aren't teenagers anymore, I haven't played truth or dare in more than a decade!"  
  
Mike frowned a little, " I know, but come on, we gotta have some fun every once in awhile!"  
  
Molly shrugged, "I'm game."  
  
"Me too" Carol grinned.  
  
Ed nodded, "You know I'm in."  
  
Nancy shook her head, defeated. "Fine, fine."  
  
Mike smiled at his wife. "Great, I'll start." He turned to Nancy.  
  
"Truth or dare Nanc?"  
  
"Truth."  
  
Mike frowned, "Oh, you're no fun. Ok…crap…this is a stupid question which I already know the answer to, but you caught me off guard when you chose truth…I already had the perfect dare for you…consisting of lemons, tequila, and me. Ok...well…do you love me?" He frowned at the question, knowing that his truths needed a bit of work.  
  
Nancy rubbed her chin, miming deep thought. "Oh man, that's a hard one…gosh…I mean, I did marry you…we do have a daughter….but I mean…golly….can I get back to you?"  
  
Everyone but Mike laughed at this…he was too busy trying to look hurt.  
  
Nancy turned to Molly. "Ok…my turn Molly. Truth or Dare?"  
  
Molly sighed, "Dare I guess."  
  
"I dare you to go pick a song from the jukebox, get up on a table, and sing."  
  
"Oh…you're cruel…very cruel."  
  
Two minutes and a Kenny Chesney song later, and Molly was back at the table. This time, she turned to Mike. "Ok Mike…truth or dare?"  
  
Mike took a deep breath and threw out his chest, "Dare of course!"  
  
"I dare you to go ask that woman over there if you can buy her a drink."  
  
The lady she pointed to was almost 60, had little hair, two teeth (at the most), and liver spots the size of golf balls.  
  
Mike gulped, "Nanc, sweetie, you don't want me to do this, do you? I mean, you are my wife…you can over-rule the dare."  
  
"No honey, that wouldn't be fair for everyone else. I'm ok with it, go on."  
  
Mike walked slowly over to the lady. 20 seconds later they heard a smack and Mike walked back to the table, rubbing his cheek.  
  
"Apparently my devilish good looks and charming attitude weren't enough for that one."  
  
Everyone laughed as Mike sat back down.  
  
"Ok Ed, my bud, your turn. Truth or dare?"  
  
"Dare."  
  
Mike cracked an evil grin. "I was hoping you would say that. I dare you…to kiss Carol."  
  
, 


	2. SMOOCHING

Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot about this, actually, I don't even know what this means, but whatever. I don't own Ed, which I 'm preety sure all ya'll should know by now..I mean, no offense to , but I wouldn't be writing on here if I had thought up Ed. Plus, it would still be on t.v., cuz i wouldn't have let them cancel it.  
  
Nancy nearly choked on her water, Molly glanced nervously at the two, and Ed gave Mike a "Just-wait-until-it's-my-turn" look. Then he turned to Carol.  
  
"We don't have to if you don't want to" he gave her an apologetic smile.  
  
"No!" Carol said, a bit louder than necessary, "it's your dare, and I'm not going to stop you from doing it.  
  
"Ok…"  
  
Ed leaned across the table and Carol followed suit. They slowly got closer and closer until their lips met. Although both started out with their eyes open, as the kiss grew longer and more passionate, both pairs of eyes drifted closed. They became totally unaware of where they were.  
  
The three onlookers just grinned. At one point, Mike whispered to Nancy,  
  
"I think I just saw tongue, did you see it? Maybe we should break those two apart…"  
  
Nancy shoved him but nodded to his first question. About a minute later, Ed and Carol finally separated slowly. Mike patted him on the back and Molly and Nancy were giggling, but neither Ed nor Carol were paying attention to their friends. Instead, they were staring at each other, each lost in their own thoughts, but both were thinking the same thing…  
  
Wow.  
  
There hadn't just been sparks; there had been a forest fire!  
  
Carol was trying not to show it, but she was breathless. She glanced at Mike and Ed.  
  
"Umm, I need to go to the bathroom…"  
  
Molly and Nancy both spoke up at the same time.  
  
"We'll go with you."  
  
When they got to the bathroom, Carol finally allowed herself to take a deep breath.  
  
Molly started, "Well…How was it?"  
  
Carol couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face, "It was…amazing. I didn't know kisses could feel like that. I was…it was…mind-blowing."  
  
Nancy grinned, Molly hugged Carol, and all of them giggled.  
  
Back at the Table  
  
Mike was questioning Ed.  
  
"So man, was it everything you ever dreamed it was gonna be?"  
  
Ed smiled, "You have NO idea."  
  
"So you think you owe me an apology?"  
  
Ed slapped him on the back, "Thanks man, I owe you one."  
  
"Great, can you watch Sarah for Nancy and me this weekend? We're kinda in need of a vacation, if you get my drift?" Mike wiggled his eyebrows at this and Ed had to laugh.  
  
"Sure man, no problem."  
  
At this, the three girls walked back to the table. Ed locked eyes with Carol and gave her a smile. She blushed and smiled back.  
  
"Hey Nance!" Mike gave her a self-satisfied smile, "I got Ed to agree to watch Sarah this weekend!"  
  
"Really? Well, that's great, but Carol just agreed to also."  
  
"Hmm, now that's a problem", Molly interjected.  
  
Ed and Carol spoke up at the same time, "We can do it together."  
  
Everyone grinned at this and Carol blushed.  
  
Mike sighed, "I don't know, I mean, you guys might forget about Sarah and get preoccupied with…each other."  
  
Carol looked mortified, "Mike! We wouldn't do that!"  
  
"That kiss says otherwise…"  
  
Everyone at the table, besides Carol and Ed, had to grin at this.  
  
"We promise not to forget about the kid...uh…what's her name?" Ed cracked a grin.  
  
Nancy rolled her eyes, "Ha-ha…fine, we'll trust you guys, but I better not come home to find out you did it in my bed!"  
  
This even brought out a blush from Ed, but he didn't argue. Neither did Carol.  
  
The game began to slow down an hour later.  
  
Nancy stood up, dragging Mike with her.  
  
"We better get going. Sarah likes to see us before she goes to bed and now we're going to have to wake her up."  
  
Molly nodded, "Yea, I better get going too. Umm Carol, can you get a ride from Ed? I'm feeling really tired and just want to get to bed."  
  
She gave Carol an evil grin.  
  
Ed nodded, "Yea, that's fine with me."  
  
As they were walking out the door, Carol reached out and pinched Molly.  
  
"You are evil!" she whispered.  
  
"I know, but don't you love me for it?" With this she strode away to her car, leaving Carol to follow Ed to his Explorer.  
  
Once inside, Ed turned the heat up, the March wind was still very chilly.  
  
Ed turned to Carol, "You'll have to give me directions to your house…"  
  
She smiled, "Ok. Do you know where the book store is? Head that way."  
  
Ed nodded. They sat for a few minutes, listening to the radio, before Ed finally broke the silence.  
  
"About tonight, the whole kissing thing…"  
  
"It was just a dare, no need to apologize." Carol assured him.  
  
"Actually, I was going to say I really enjoyed it, and if I'm not mistaken, you did too."  
  
"Full of yourself, aren't you?" Carol laughed.  
  
"No, it's just, in my experience, women who don't enjoy the kiss they are getting from a gorgeous male specimen like myself, usually don't stick their tongue down said specimen's throat." He grinned, having made his point.  
  
Carol shook her head, "No, I do believe you were the sticker."  
  
"Definitely not."  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Well" Ed grinned, "there's only one way to find out…"  
  
Carol laughed, "And how is that?"  
  
"We try it again."  
  
The car got quiet for a moment, the only noise coming from the radio, turned down low, playing an old love song.  
  
"Ok"  
  
Ed was surprised. He had expected her to say no.  
  
"Umm…well...Ok then."  
  
He pulled into the parking lot of a nearby park and turned towards Carol.  
  
"Ok, on the count of three…one…two..."  
  
They were at it before Ed reached three. Lips locked, hands roaming, they were completely lost in the kiss.  
  
Carol was confused. Every time they kissed, fireworks went off in her head. Nick had never kissed her like that. He had always kissed her as if it was an obligation, like paying taxes. But with Ed…  
  
Ed couldn't believe he was kissing Carol Vessey…and it was amazing.  
  
They soon lost track of time, and were therefore surprised when a flashlight beam was turned on their faces.  
  
Carol shielded her eyes as Ed tried to see the flashlight-holder as he rolled down the windows, defogging them in the process.  
  
"Umm...wow…officer…" Ed smiled up at the policeman, dressed in the infamous black shirt and badge, "Nice evening don't you think?"  
  
"What exactly were you two doing out here?"  
  
"Well, I thought it was pretty obvious…"  
  
Carol blushed at this.  
  
The officer threw them a questioning glance, "Yea, well, at 2 in the morning?"  
  
Now it was Carols turn to speak.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Is it seriously 2? I've gotta get home, I have class tomorrow!"  
  
Ed turned back to the officer.  
  
"Look sir, can I speak to you for a second…alone?"  
  
The officer nodded and Ed got out of the car, leading the officer to a corner of the parking lot, just far enough away for Carol to be out of hearing distance. After a few murmured words and quick nods, the two men walked back to the car, the officer grinning as if he was in on a big secret.  
  
"Ok, well, you folks have a good night!"  
  
Ed nodded to him as he walked back to the patrol car, got in, and drove away. Meanwhile, Carol looked on, dumbfounded.  
  
"Wha…what did you say to him!?"  
  
"That, Ms. Vessey, is for me to know and for you to never ever find out! Now, let's get you back home. Oh, and you lose the bet, you were the sticker."  
  
Carol looked about to argue when she realized he was right, and lightly hit his arm instead.  
  
The next few minutes passed in silence as Carol used hand signals to guide Ed to her house. Both were thinking about what would have happened, had the officer not shown up when he did. 


End file.
